Beauty and the Ralph
by PonderRose
Summary: Ralph meets a very special lady in Sugar Rush who, after refusing to marry King Candy, had been banished from the kingdom and forbidden to race. Love starts to bloom between the "bad guy" and the glitch; something which Ralph has never and never thought he could experience.
1. The Glitch

Same up to the point of Ralph coming to in Sugar Rush:

The cybug fell against a candy cane tree trunk, falling into this weird, sticky purple goo. "Sayōnara, sucker!" Ralph called out before taking a moment to realize where he was. A colorful, rather sweet game appropriately entitled: Sugar Rush. "Sugar Rush?" He repeated to himself. "Oh no. This is that candy go-kart game over by the Whack-a-Mole," the wrecker said, wiping the stickiness off his gigantic hand. "I gotta get outta here," or at least the was the plan until he couldn't feel his medal on him. "Oh no! My medal! Wha-, wher-….." Turning his head around, he was able to see it hanging off a peppermint branch far in the distance. "Oh no, no! My medal!"

Immediately, Ralph shimmied his way down the red and white tree, making a mad dash for one currently holding his medal. "Gotta get my medal!" He was about to climb the tree when something, or rather someone at the top caught his eye. She wasn't looking at him per se, but at the scenery in front of her. It was a "her"; a woman to be exact. Thin, pale, with long limbs and delicate features. Her black hair was long; really long, coming almost down to her heels. It swayed in the sweet breeze behind her, showing off the extent of its length She had on a loose-fitting t-shirt and jean shorts, which actually complimented her looks. She was beautiful, though one couldn't help but sense an air of tragedy about her. She also didn't seem to notice Ralph right away.

The wrecker didn't know what to make the mysterious girl. She caught him by surprise, but he was aware how close to his medal she was. Well, whoever she is, she is not getting in between me and my medal, Ralph mentally decided. All that he knew is that he was going to get it back and go home with it in hand. Then they'd treat him with respect….. and decency. The girl did notice him as he hopped across the gumdrops, poorly. As soon as he had reached the tree trunk, he started climbing, again poorly. She perked up as he reached for a double-stripped branch.

"Sir… Sir, don't touch that! Not that one!" Ralph immediately looked up to see her staring down at him wide-eyed. "Huh?" "That branch; don't grab that one." He took a much-needed breath. "M-man, you scared me, miss," the giant man forced a grin. "Nearly soiled myself," he glanced around while saying this. "Are you alright?" "Oh, yeah! Yeah, I'm fine." "W-what are you doing?" She sounded concerned. "Oh, you know; just doin' some routine work in the area." "Oh! What kind of work?" "C-Candy tree trimming," he patted the tree trunk. "Uh, you probably want to stand back. In fact, this whole area's technically closed while we're trimming." "Oh! I'm sorry; I didn't know. I'll just uh…." She continued to watch nervously as he climbed.

"Um, are you sure you'll be alright here on your own?" "Yeah! This is my job; I do this all the time," Ralph lied as he continued to climb. Man, would this chick just leave him alone already? "I can help if you want?" "N-no, that's fine! You should probably just get outta here; uh clear out so I can do my job." "Um, ok sir, but um….." She bit her lip. "No, not that one!" Too late. Ralph grabbed onto a double-striped branch, only to have it dissolve in his hand. "That's double-striped! They break." "Good to know," Ralph uttered under his breath. It was then that he glanced up at the medal. Her eyes followed his, widening at the gold medal resting on the branch nearby. "A gold coin!" She gasped out loud.

"Don't even think about it! That is mine," Ralph's huge finger pointed up at her. She blinked down to him in surprise. "It's yours?" "Yes! Mine; no touchy!" Her gaze moved from him to the metal as if to be contemplating something. A look of decidedness rolled over her face and she turned to look down at the man. "I'm sorry." That was all she said before walking over on the branch to grab it. "Hey! That's mine!" Enraged, Ralph tried to hurry up the tree. "Give it back! Give it!" Nearing the top, he accidently took hold of a double-striped branch in his fury. The result was it vanishing and effectively sending him tumbling down. He landed in the same goo the cybug supposedly drowned in. When he emerged, the woman was nowhere to be seen.

Metal in hand, the girl ran all the way to the city's centre; it was also the starting point of the race. Everyone was already there as the game was winding down for the day. Crowds of candy cheered loudly as the contestants all gathered on the race track. "Citizens of Sugar Rush," a gargly voice announced into a speaker. The woman hid behind one of the booths, taking a few deep breaths in and clutching the medal to her chest. "It's now or never," she told herself in a whisper as the announcer continued. "All hail our rightful ruler, King Candy." This eccentric man burst through the curtains to excitedly greet his subjects. "Hello my loyal subjects! Have some candy!" He laughed while tossing handfuls of candy at the crowds.

"Thank you for that stirring introduction, Sour Bill," he then patted his henchman on the top of his shiny head. "And thank you to today's avatars. It was a wonderful day of racing, it was. But now the arcade is closed, so it's time to wipe the slate clean and race to decide our new roster! The first nine racers across that finish line will represent Sugar Rush as tomorrow's avatars!" Everyone gave a loud cheer. "Haha, yes; ok, calm down. Listen, this event is pay to play; we all know this. The fee to compete is one gold coin from your previous winnings, if you've ever won which haha, I have. Let me go first." Pulling on a string, a round platform came down. King Candy threw on his coin, which was bounced into the golden trophy high above. Taffyta Muttonfudge was next, and so on and so forth.

Meanwhile, an angry and tarred Ralph stomped his way towards the crowd. "That stealer… Wait til I catch that brat," he huffed to himself the whole way. Back that the stadium, CandleHead tossed in her coin, leaving the woman to be the last behind her. Taking in a deep, deep breath, she cautiously placed the medal on the platform and waited for it to go in. "Sour Bill, who's that last one?" King Candy eyed her suspiciously as he put on his racing goggles. "Sinensis de Camellia!" Her name appeared in a pink bar on the roster board. Sinensis couldn't help but smile seeing her name up there like that, for the first time. But this joy was short-lived as the whole crowd, including the king gasped. "Sinensis!?"

Sinensis watched an affronted Taffyta pull off the cover, revealing her motorcycle; she had always preferred motorcycles over go karts. "The glitch!" Her gloved hands balled into angry fists. Onlookers began to panic, sending King Candy into immediate repair-mode. "Now, now, everything is alright!" He addressed his subjects. "Security!" Sinensis looked in terror as two donut cops started to approach her. "Come here, sweetheart." "We ain't gonna hurt ya, princess!"

Afraid, the woman didn't hesitate to spin around and make a dash to her motorcycle. But Sinensis was stopped dead in her tracks by the arrival of another alarming presence. "You!" Ralph stood upright with his arms up in the air. His voice was hard to make out behind all that green goo. "Give me back my medal right now!" People started screaming and Sinensis took many steps backwards. "What is that?" King Candy was confused to no end. Utterly ignoring his question, Ralph continued to chase after Sinensis, proceeding to knock over every booth she hid behind. "Please stop!" She tried begging. "I can explain!" But it was no use; Ralph was having none of it. "What are you doing?!" King Candy also tried to diffuse the situation, badly.

Ralph continued to chase Sinensis until finally he knocked over a cupcake; it landed right on top of him, effectively trapping him inside. Sinensis gasped in concern and ran over to his side. "Are you alright?!" "G-give me…. give me back my medal!" "Now we got him," the donuts ran over to him as Sinensis got out of their way. "Oh good, the cops. She's over there; get her!" "Hold still!" They started assaulting him with their batons. "No!" Sinensis cried out, lifting her hands to her mouth. "Don't hurt him! It's not his fault!" "Yeah! What she said! Wait, what?" Ralph realized what he just said glancing over at the horrified Sinensis. "Ok, folks," King Candy attempted once again to restore order. "Calm down! Everything is alright; the monster's been caught. We'll repair all the damage; don't worry. We will have a race before the arcade opens."

While the other racers glowered at the roster, Sinensis stayed just out of arms-length of the cops currently assaulting Ralph. "Stop it! Please, you're hurting him!" She continued begging, to no avail. King Candy narrowed his eyes onto her as she tried to stop his guards. "Sour Bill, hot as she is, that glitch cannot be allowed to race! And bring that thing to my castle!" "Wait!" A drop of sweat rolled down the back of her neck as they started to roll Ralph away. "Where are you taking him?" "Don't worry." "Yeah, we'll be back to deal with you later, cupcake," the cops chuckled her way before proceeding to bring Ralph to King Candy's castle. "Guys! Guys!" Ralph cried, also to no success.

In the span of minutes, Ralph was brought before King Candy where the now dried goo was torn off his head. Needless to say, that the king was more than surprised to find Wreck-it Ralph in front of him. "Milk my duds! It's Wreck-it Ralph?" "Yeah? Who are you? The guy who makes the donuts?" King Candy laughed. "Oh please! No, I'm King Candy!" Ralph scanned around the throne room unimpressed. "I see you're a fan of pink." "Salmon," the king corrected. "That is obviously salmon. And what are you doing here?" "Look, your candiness, this is just a big misunderstanding. Ah, just get me out of this cupcake, I'll get my medal, and I'll be out of your way."

"Your metal? Bad guys don't win medals." "Well, this one did. I earned it over in Hero's Duty." "You game-jumped?" This caught King Candy's attention. "Ralph, you're not going turbo, are you?" "What? No, no, no…" "Because if you think you can come in here to my kingdom and take over my game, you got another thing coming!" "Easy, your puffiness. It's not my fault one of your sugar babes stole my medal." "Sugar babes? Who…..?" It took him a minute to get it. A wave of irritation washed over his puffy face. "The glitch! The coin she used to buy her way into the race; that was your medal?"

"She did what? I need that back!" "Well I'm afraid I can't help you; it's gone, you know. It's… it's nothing but code now and it will stay that way until someone wins the cup at the end of the race." "Well maybe I'll just have to have a talk with the winner then," Ralph announced. "Is that a threat?" King Candy's eyebrow raised. "Listen, nellywaffer! I'm not leaving without my medal." "Yes, you are," he grinned maliciously. "Winchell, Dunkin, get him out of that cupcake," King Candy spun around to walk the other walk, waving his hand in the air along the way. "And on the first train back home! And if I ever see you here again, Wreck-it Ralph, I'll lock you in my fungeon." "Fungeon?" His eyebrow rose. "Fun dungeon, you know. It's a play on words. Ah, never mind!" The king pulled the bottom of his vest down. "I've got a glitch to deal with thanks to you. Ugh, first she won't marry me and now she wants to race!" Ralph watched the king toss his arms into the air. "Good bye, Wreck-it Ralph," he then hopped into his car. "It hasn't been a pleasure." With that, the king drove off, leaving his cops to deal with the intruder. Again, like their king, they did their job badly and Ralph managed to escape with ease. Now he had one objective: to find Sinensis and have a little "talk" about the situation he found himself in.


	2. The Broken Motorcycle

Emerging from a puddle of liquid chocolate, Ralph managed to catch sight of a bunch of racers. It took him a moment to remember what King Candy told him back at the castle. "The pot goes to the winning racer!" Getting up off the cocoa ground, Ralph took after them. "Hey, guys! Can I talk to you for a second?" He followed them to some sort of junkyard were low and behold, Sinensis was working on her motorcycle. She did not look happy at their arrival. Ralph got down low as he watched the racers emerge from their cars and surround her; the mood was tense, even from where he was observing. "It's that little crumble snatcher," he frowned, eyeing her intently. He was not the only one glaring at the long-haired woman.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Sinensis?" Taffyta smirked sourly, folding her arms. "I thought you died." "U-uh, no. I'm still here and kicking," Sinensis answered in a smaller voice; she clearly wasn't the confrontational type. "And you've been busy, I see. Make that heh, little bike yourself?" "Um, yes. It took me a while but…" "Oh, Sinensis; it's so…. you. You've always stood out from the crowd; I mean you're beautiful." "Yeah, too bad she's weird," another added. The earned a collective laugh. Ralph wasn't sure how he felt about that. Sure, she was a thief but what about her made her so different? Other than the fact that everyone called her a "glitch" and she wanted to ride a motorcycle.

Sinensis blushed and rubbed her arm in a shy fashion, not saying anything. "I mean like, where did you even get the coin to pay? It's not like you've ever raced before," Taffyta asked in a condescending tone. "A-ah, well I… I borrowed it from someone." "You didn't borrow it, you stole it!" Ralph growled to himself. "From who? That big monster who was chasing you on the track?" "He's not a monster, Taffyta; he's a person." This definitely caught Ralph's attention, widening his eyes. No one had ever said anything like that about him before, and while it was technically not a compliment- more of a recognition of a basic truth- it felt good to hear it. Real good. The others however, didn't look all that impressed.

"Awe, you are so sweet, Sinensis. But you have to back out of the race, yeah." Sinensis blinked in surprise for some reason. "I….. I don't understand. I-I paid my fee and I'm on the roster. W-why shouldn't I race?" "Well you see, Sinensis; CandleHead is right. You're different, and not in a good way," she tossed her lollipop at the frazzled girl. "King Candy says glitches can't race." "That's not fair. It's not my fault that I glitch, sometimes." "I know, but hey, the rules are there for a reason, honey; to protect us," Taffyta made her way past Sinensis over towards her bike. "I mean look at this; a motorcycle? Seriously? Are you trying to be cool or something?" "N-no! I just like bikes more; I don't know why." "Well just look at this thing," Taffyta gave it a kick, causing the others to snicker. "It wouldn't last five minutes in a race." "Yes, it would! I've worked very hard on it." "Oh really? But what if you g-glitch?" The mean woman reached over to grab hold of the handlebar. With one swift motion, it came off in her hand causing Sinensis- and Ralph- to erupt in a shocked gasp. "See? What did I tell ya? You're an accident just waiting to happen," She waved it in front of the teary black-haired woman. "No…. no….." Tears began to stream down her flushed cheeks.

"Hey, I think Taffyta's right," Francis came to the other side, grabbing hold of one of the side mirrors. "You wouldn't wanna mess up that pretty face if you g-glitched during the race, would you?" He knocked the mirror clean off. Ralph watched in utter disbelief as everyone, minus Sinensis, took that as their que to destroy her bike. "No, stop! My bike!" A frantic Sinensis ran over to take hold of one of their arms, only to be cruelly flung to the ground. Still crying, she pushed her upper half up to see her beloved motorcycle torn to pieces. "My bike! My bike…."

When the damage was done, and the other racers had had their fill of sinister violence, they all turned back to face a dumb-struck Sinensis. She was just staring at the shattered remains of her most precious treasure, her most valuable possession. Taffyta made sure to kick the handlebar daramtically out of the way as she came over to Sinensis. "There, you see, sweetheart? You will never be a racer because you're a glitch. Nothing but a glitch, and that's all you'll ever be."

That was the last straw; Ralph had had enough. They were torturing this poor girl for no reason, at least from where he stood. "Hey! Leave her alone!" Everyone turned to face him in horror as he suddenly charged down at them. With a scream, they all took off, leaving a down-hearted Sinensis there alone with him. "Scram, you rotten little cavities! Before I throw you into the mud!" Ralph didn't stop until they were all gone. With one last kick at the dirt, he took a few deep breaths and slowly turned back to her. She was still gazing over the sad remains of her bike, crying silently to herself.

The mood was…. awkward, to say the least. Ralph wanted to yell at her, but he also felt an immense pity for her. He decided to take things slowly, at least at first as he approached her from behind. "You ok?" The awkward man ventured to ask. Sinensis didn't even look at him while she answered. "Did…. did they hurt you? At King Candy's castle?" "What is with you?!" This didn't sit well with Ralph for some reason. "Why do you keep worrying about me? "Oh, please don't hit him; please stop hurting him"," he said in a mocking feminine tone. He was expecting some sort of sassy or angry retort, but Sinensis still didn't glance up his way. "I am so sorry you had to be dragged you into this," she uttered with a new batch of tears swelling in her eyes. "I didn't mean for this to happen….."

Ralph watched Sinensis cry for a moment, experiencing an array of intense emotions. His anger melted into softness for her as he heard her crying. He couldn't deny the positive feelings sprouting inside him, which he knew was insane considering she's the one who stole from him. And yet… as he looked at her, he could feel a sort of kinship, empathy….. For the first time in… since Ralph could remember, he felt sincerity, a desire to make things right…. just to make her stop crying. He didn't know where these feelings came from, but they were there, and they were strong. In that instant, Ralph realized that Sinensis was his ally and his friend; she was on his side. He didn't even need to ask her; something inside him already know. His eyes lowered gently onto the back of her. He didn't have to think about it.

"Ah, alright; stop crying," Ralph rubbed the back of his head. "I'm not mad that you stole my medal." "I didn't steal it. I borrowed it…. but I guess its stolen now that I can't compete in the race," her fingers reached down to tenderly caress the handlebar. "I know this is putting the burden on you but….. is there a way you can earn another one, in your game?" "I can't; I didn't win it in my game. I won it in Hero's Duty." "Oh," her eyes softened. "I'm sorry…." "Look; would you stop saying you're sorry? I believe you; you're sorry. Now we've gotta figure out a way to get my medal back somehow," his finger rubbed under his chin thoughtfully.

Rubbing her eyes, Sinensis stood up and brushed the cocoa powder off her clothes. "What's your name?" "Huh?" Ralph blinked at her confused. "Your name; what's your name?" "Huh? Oh, it's Ralph." "Ralph," she repeated quietly to herself, lowering her eyes a tad. "Ralph…. Listen, Ralph; I can help you if I can get another bike. I can race and win your medal back." "You want me to help you?" Ralph didn't know why he sounded so surprised; in retrospect, this seemed like a good idea. Sinensis responded with a smile, a real smile, and slow nod of the head. "I'm sorry that you have to help me, but I need it. I can't do this alone; it took me years to build that bike, my bike…" The two stared at each other for a minute; not a hostile or angry stare but just a curious gaze. Eventually Ralph gave a little smirk, pointing his fat finger at her. "You better win." "I will; for you, I will."


End file.
